SidViscous!
SidViscous! was a PIT House Team that performed in repertory on Super Free Wednesday at The Peoples Improv Theater. Since they were disbanded as a PIT House Team, they have performed as one of the most prolific indie teams in the city . All their members have trained at The PIT. Name Origin The group's name is formally written as SidViscous! (one word, culminating in an exclamation point), or SV! for short. The name was loosely derived from a line of dialogue in a scene from their first rehearsal together. They were nearly named "Pizza and the Gang," and occasionally still refer to themselves as such. History SidViscous! was originally assembled by the PIT's ensemble committee on January 28, 2007. Following that, they performed regularly as part of the theater's Super Free Wednesday lineup. Their first show took place on Feb. 7, 2007. Memorable Shows SidViscous! has exhibited an enthusiasm for occasionally putting together one-off performances constructed around a central concept or "gimmick." They include: *'Rocky Horror -' For Halloween 2007, the group dressed in a "team costume" as the cast of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and performed against a constant soundtrack of haunted house sound effects. *'SidViscous! ON ICE! -' The team's signature gimmick, this format is a highly physical montage-based form which places the entire group on roller skates for the duration of the performance. It was developed with the help of Kevin Scott and Jay Rhoderick, and unveiled on January 2nd, 2008 at The PIT. It was then revived at the same venue on June 25th before taking it to the Providence Improv Festival for two performances. *'The Marathon Show -' As a surprise for Desiree Nash, who was about to run in a Team In Training marathon to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the rest of the team opened the October 15, 2008 show by stripping down to running shorts, sweatbands and race numbers to the theme from "Chariots of Fire." Perhaps not surprisingly, the theme of races and running pervaded the piece. There was also a tray onstage holding cups of water, which the cast would splash on their own and each other's faces throughout the show, and some team members secretly applied "bloody nipple stains" to their shirts at key points in the set as well. *'Funny Bones -' For Halloween 2008, SV! performed in glow-in-the-dark skeleton costumes and skull makeup and flooded the stage with blacklight so that only the glowing bones could be seen. This show is notable also for being part of Matt Donnelly's last improv show in New York. *'The Fever Dream -' Not so much a gimmick as a form, the team created this stream-of-consciousness, theatrical concept show in late 2008 and continued to develop it throughout the following year, using seamless edits, creative lighting and musical backing tracks and running their own tech. *'The Zombie Show -' Halloween 2009 saw the group performing a fully-improvised zombie narrative, complete with makeup changes, blood packs, and the accompaniment of the original 1968 Night of the Living Dead film score. *'1692 -' For Halloween 2010 and the following Chicago Improv Festival, SV! performed an improvised witch trial, complete with flashbacks to the events described, while clad in period costumes. *'Rock Opera -' 2011's Halloween show alluded to their original Halloween special five years prior, with the team performing an improvised glam rock musical/70s grindhouse horror movie, with accompaniment by The BTK Band. Festivals SidViscous! has performed at the following improv and comedy festivals: *The Mid-Atlantic Comedy Smorgasbord 2007 (Frederick, MD) *Providence Improv Festival 2008 (Providence, RI) *Baltimore Improv Festival 2008 (Baltimore, MD) *SketchProv Fest 2008, 2009 (New York, NY) *Philadelphia Improv Festival 2008, 2009 (Philadelphia, PA) *Charleston Comedy Festival 2009 (Charleston, SC) *Boston Improv Festival 2009 (Cambridge, MA) *Toronto Improv Festival 2009 (Toronto, ON, Canada) *Charleston Comedy Festival 2010 (Charleston, SC) *Chicago Improv Festival 2011 (Chicago. Il) *The NYC Improv Festival 2012 (New York, NY) Cast *J Hobart B *Alex Farlow *Kevin Gottlieb *Desiree Nash *Sarah Nowak *Mandy Schmieder *Phil Wells Line-up Changes Desiree Nash was added in January 2008. Sarah Nowak joined in June 2009. Former Members *James Rich *Keith Huang *Liz Hope *Kathryn Reynolds Coaches Coaches who have worked with SidViscous! include Matt Donnelly, Kimmy Gatewood, Ptolemy Slocum, Kurt Braunohler, Mark Grenier, Rebekka Johnson, Kevin Scott, Jay Rhoderick, Scott Eckert, Nate Starkey, and Pat Shay. Scripted Material In 2012, the team made its first venture into the world of scripted material with the full-length farce, My Daughter, My Wife. The play was written by Nash and Wells specifically to be performed by SidViscous!. Chris Roberti and Reilly Owens also performed in the production, which was directed by Joseph Hendel and produced at The PIT. Resources *Official SidViscous! Website *Official Facebook Page for SidViscous! *SidViscous! on Improvisgoodforyou *SidViscous! ON ICE! in The Providence Journal Category:Improv Groups Category:PIT House Teams Category:New York City